“Yes. I remember.”
“What was the girl’s name?”
Teren smiled. Carl knew the name, but he wanted her to say it.
“Ann, and you know it.”
“Oh, right.” He nodded, smiling. “Now, you want to tell me what the shooting of your old girlfriend has to do with the killings out east?”
*******************************************************
David and Alex almost felt like they were chasing their proverbial tails. They had checked everyone that had been in or out of Halloran’s room in the hours between the search and the time he died. So far, they had nothing.
All medical personnel were searched before going in. The four cops had all gone into the room in pairs, and had been there for very short periods. The visitors, of which there were only three, had all been searched as well. There was nothing to show how Halloran had gotten hold of a small glass vial holding cyanide.
Before leaving for Colorado Springs, Alex wanted to look through Halloran’s personal effects. She and David got a ride with Tanner down to police headquarters, and went through everything Halloran had been found carrying.
There wasn’t much, just a wallet, car keys, an extra magazine for his rifle, a watch, and a silver necklace with a large silver cross pendant.
Alex was looking at the police list of effects when she noticed something. She called Tanner and Captain Weaver over.
“Captain, this list is incomplete. It doesn’t have the necklace listed.”
“Oh, yeah. That’s because his land lady brought it to him. He had his lawyer call her, and she brought it up to him in the hospital. It was included after he died.” He handed her an updated list. “See? There it is.”
Alex looked over at David who was staring at the Captain. They both made a grab for the necklace. David was a split second faster.
“Shit, Alex, it’s gotta be.”
He fumbled with it, looking for catches, or indentations. Anything that would indicate a hiding place for a small glass vial.
“Um, someone want to explain?” Tanner asked.
They ignored him. David finally handed the pendant to Alex. “You got any ideas?”
Alex took the piece in her hand, examining it slowly. She noticed that there was a slight bulge in the middle of the cross, and when she looked at the back she could make out a very fine line.
She grabbed hold of the bottom and top of the cross and bent them back towards each other. They didn’t bend easily, but they finally opened up, separating from each other to reveal a small hole that ran down the inside of the cross.
“There’s your killer, gentlemen.” She handed it to the Captain. “You said it was given to him by his land lady?”
“Yeah. She runs an apartment house on the north side of the Springs. She’s a nice old lady, about sixty-five or seventy.” He looked at Alex. “You don’t think she had anything to do with it, do you?”
“I’ve no idea, Captain. But since we’re gong down there, we’ll ask her, alright?”
Alex turned away and left the property room in disgust.
*******************************************************
Teren had borrowed Carl’s car to finish her errands, and was just pulling into a space at the hospital when her cell phone rang.
“Hello.”
“It’s Alex, where are you?”
Teren bristled at the agent’s tone, but she chose to ignore it for the moment.
“I’m in the parking lot, just got here.”
“At the hospital?”
“Yes.”
“Great. We’re on our way back there. Don’t move. I want to be on our way to Colorado Springs as soon as possible.”
Teren decided to take a chance.
“I take it things aren’t going well.”
“Teren, they let someone hand him a necklace without checking it out. The vial was hidden inside it. And the fucking cop was standing right there when it happened!”
Teren winced as the last part was nearly yelled into her ear. “So, do you know who gave him the necklace?”
“His landlady. Can you believe that?”
“Un-huh. So, are you going to arrest her, or just browbeat her ‘til she talks?”
She thought for a moment that the line was dead. Then she heard Alex take a deep breath, and let it out.
“I’m over-reacting, aren’t I?”
“I don’t know. But tell me this. The shooter is dead, but his victim is still alive. Have you thought of talking to her, or even checking on the security measures in place?”
“I checked security for Ann Seffren as soon as we reached the hospital this morning. And as far as talking with her, I’d rather do that after we get back from his apartment.”
“I see. Any reason?”
“No. Maybe just because I don’t feel like dealing with it right now. You might have noticed my temper’s a little on the short side at the moment.”
“I can hear that. Let me know when it gets bad enough that you’re pulling guns on people.” She heard Alex laugh at that, and felt better herself.
“Thanks, Teren, I needed that. Tanner says we’re about two or three minutes from the hospital. You want some lunch before we go south?”
“Sure. Anyplace but McDonald’s.”
“You mean I can’t have a happy meal?”
“Nope.”
“Brat.”
*******************************************************
They actually stopped at a Burger King, and lunch was eaten in the van, while Tanner drove. He took them past the scene where the shooting happened, and then through the alley where Halloran had been shot.
Teren was quiet through much of the ride. Carl had given her plenty to think about.
Alex noticed the darker woman’s silence, but decided not to bring it up. She wasn’t feeling particularly talkative herself.
They reached Halloran’s apartment house a little before one in the afternoon. It was a small building, only two stories, with outside entrances for every apartment. It had the appearance of a renovated hotel. There were police cars stationed out front, and yellow tape across one of the apartment doors. Tanner led them to an officer standing beside the taped up door.
Everyone showed their badges and signed the log, then the tape was held up and they entered. Alex nearly gagged on the odor of sweat and mold. When her eyes adjusted to the light inside, she could see why it smelled so bad. There were dishes in the sink that appeared to be at least a week old, and dirty laundry was piled beside an overflowing hamper. An even more obnoxious odor was drifting up from the kitchen garbage bag, which hung from a cupboard handle, right below the sink.
“He probably killed himself so he didn’t have to come clean his apartment,” David muttered.
“Right. Let’s just be glad we don’t have to do it,” Alex replied.
At least in this apartment there were no booby traps, though David continued to be apprehensive about opening closet doors. He did so, however, to reveal a number of weapons. Besides rifles and handguns there was a crossbow and several knives. One of them had a swastika emblazoned on it.
“Alex? I think you should see this.”
“What?” Alex joined David at the closet and took the dagger from him. “Jeez, not again.” She slipped the knife from its sheath. “Okay, this is a replica. A pretty bad one, too, it looks like. Somebody welded this swastika on the handle. Other than that, it’s an ordinary knife.”
“So, this isn’t something he’d keep as a sacred symbol or anything?”
“No. As a matter of fact, he probably did the welding himself.”
David put the knife back in its place in the closet. Other than the weapons and a few clothes, the closet was bare, and after a quick check through the pockets, David closed the door, and turned back towards his partner.
“What are we looking for, anyway, Alex?”
“Don’t know. Maybe something that will tell us how to connect this to the other killings. So far, we have no solid proof that Halloran was anything but a nut case.”
David sighed. “Yeah. Well, I’m not sure I’d know what I was looking at. How about I go talk to the landlady, huh?”
“Good idea. You’re pretty good with little old ladies.”